Westminster Tops On The Track At AJ Terrell Invitational

On Saturday, the Westlake Lions track and field team hosted their annual AJ Terrell Invitational featuring over 20 teams from around metro Atlanta and Georgia and some of the state’s top runners including Westminster milers, Palmer Walstad and Joseph Jacquot, and Madeline Cooper of Drew Charter School. Overall, the day would belong to Westminster as both their boys and girls teams would win their respective divisions of the invitational as Walstad was the winner of the 1600M run with a finish of 5:03.62 and Jacquot would take the boys 1600M with a new personal record and Georgia Top 10 time of 4:22.20.

The meet was far from short of several personal records and top times and Pebblebrook’s Dwight Phillips may have been the day’s biggest crowd pleaser as he would take the boys 100M dash in a PR and USA Top 1 time of 10.29. “I was like, man I’ve gotten way faster than a year ago,” Phillips said of his performance that seemed to even take him by surprise, however he would not be done as he would help the Pebblebrook 4x100 boys relay team take first in a time of 40.84. “I could have finished a little better,” Phillips would add of his 100M finish and felt the main area of correction for the 4x100 was “better exchanges,” Phillips said.

As for the host Lions, with their girls getting eadged out 114-111 by Westminster, they would see top finishes in the girls 4x100 as they would win the race in a time of 46.84, as well as the boys 400M dash, with Sidi Njie taking the top spot in a USA Top 10 time of 46.87. Junior Jaden Billings, who ran the first leg of the girls 4x100 for Westlake, would have a personal best performance as she claimed first in the 100M hurdles, winning in a time of 14.16, a personal record and Georgia Top 25 time.

“She put down a top time in the state of Georgia,” Westlake coach, Jason Cage of the junior’s performance at the invitational, which Cage spoke highly of Terrell for bringing to his alma mater. “It means a lot for AJ to come back and give back to the program,” Cage said as he reflected on Terrell’s time running for the Lions. “AJ was a football guy, but he also competed in track and field which helped him on the football field, so we really appreciate him coming out giving back to the youth,” Cage said.